Another chapter! It's sort of a filler, but I had to end the night somehow. Some awesome LeoxPiper friendship in this one! Thanks for your reviews! Awesomeness!
Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I don't get the point of these; I will NEVER own PJO or HoO-no one in their right mind would sell them to me. Don't sue me if I forget these though...
XI
LEO
"Leo! Where did you put my sweater?" Piper shouted across the barrack of the Fifth Cohort as she flung clothes all over her bunk. "It's godsdamn chilly out there!"
He shrugged. "I don't know where your sweater is Beauty Queen!" Leo shouted back. "Why would I want it anyway?" Leo swung his feet until his whole body was lying on his bunk. He grinned, putting his arms behind his head. Finally, after months of planning and building Argo II, he could rest for a week before they went on yet another quest to save the world from evil Mother Nature.
You know, the normal things demigods do.
"Whose idea was it to exchange stories and stuff anyway?" Piper muttered, settling on a pink sweater one of her sisters had lent her. "Can't we just enjoy our week of relaxing before we go save the world again?"
He snorted. "Us against the mother of all monsters; that's going to be so much fun, considering she's also somewhat our great grandmother too!" Leo exclaimed sarcastically.
Piper grabbed his arm in a death grip as he whined. "Let gooo! You're a pain Beauty Queen!" She ignored him as she dragged him out the barrack to the principia. "Watch my feet!" Leo yelled as she nearly slammed the door on his feet, but luckily, he swung them out of the way quickly.
"You can totally let go of me!" Leo proclaimed, snatching his arm from his best friend's iron grip. "You're freaking strong for an Aphrodite girl," he muttered, rubbing his poor arm.
Piper scowled. "Just because we're daughters of love, that doesn't mean we're weak."
"You guys actually came?" Jason's voice came from the doorway, grinning happily at them. "I thought you two would still be arguing in the barracks."
Piper blushed. "Of course we came! Why wouldn't we?"
"I-nothing. Come on in," Jason said, changing his mind. He stepped away from the entrance and gestured for them to enter, which Leo did, grinning like an elf.
"Sup guys?" Leo said, slouching on a chair.
~M~A~R~K~O~F~A~T~H~E~N~A~
"Leo? LEO!" A voice yelled into his ear.
He jumped from his seat. "Huh! What's..." He opened his eyes to see Piper giggling at him. "Oh, it's just you." He fell asleep hearing Jason repeat their journey again, and Leo didn't want to talk about Fetus, so he dozed off, only to be woke up by Beauty Queen.
"You can sleep in a better bed if you just moved," she promised, holding out her hand. "Let's go."
He gave her a confused look. When was she this kind and helpful to him? She was always blabbing about...he spun around and saw Reyna and Jason talking to the two epic automatons.
Oh. That's why she was so out of character these days. Well, it was nice to know how much he was appreciated. He was always outshined by Jason, even in his Mist-altered memories, and it didn't really bother him before, but seeing all the other male destined demigods, Leo felt so out of place, even more then when he ran away. Frank, Jason and Percy all had better luck than him. They all had girlfriends (Jason has two girls after him!), all of them had amazing powers (why couldn't he transform into an eagle?), and natural commanding aura around them (everyone talked about how Percy was all-so mighty and powerful). What did he have? Some fire ability that's supposed to be bad luck, and some wicked skill with machinery. Not that those abilities weren't awesome, but it made him feel small compared to the other three.
Leo ignored his inner feelings and smiled at Piper, taking her offered hand. "Right behind ya."
They left the principia, hand in hand, and Leo couldn't help but blush. The redness caught Jason's attention as well as he turned away from Reyna to see their joined hands. He had a pained smile on his face but it was wiped away and turned confused when Reyna put a hand on his arm. Piper suddenly realized what she was doing and removed her hand, biting her lip, but Jason was already turning his attention back to Reyna, his arm on her shoulder.
Leo grimaced and walked faster, Piper right behind him. He always got the short end of the stick.
"Sorry, I just..." Piper tried to explain, but sighed. "I don't even know what's going on," she admitted, looking back at the principia. "I know he just got his memory back, but can't he make a decision already? I hate feeling this way."
Leo patted her on the back. "Don't worry Beauty Queen. I'm sure he'll pick you; he couldn't take his eyes off of you during the quest."
She shook her head. "I know, but that was before he got his memory back. Now that he remembers everything...I don't know if I can compete against her." Leo saw a tear fall from her eyes. "She's more prettier than me, more skilled at fighting than me, more stronger than me..," she laughed bitterly. "I'm just a daughter of love; she's the war daughter. How can I win against that?"
Leo pushed her chin up so she was looking right at him. "I know I'm not as good as Jason at comforting, but since you've been my best friend than he has, I'm going to try." He took a deep breath. "It's true, she's a daughter of war, and compared to your lovey dovey powers, it doesn't seem like much, but it is. You can charm speak and you're one of the seven of the prophecy. She's most likely not one. She's pretty, I can totally admit that, but don't downgrade yourself. You're pretty damn gorgeous Pipes. No matter what you wear or look like, you're still a Beauty Queen. She fights like a Roman; you fight like a Greek. Two different types of fighting, but both delivers the same blow if you know what you're doing. And as for who's stronger," he paused and held out his arm, a purple bruise forming from where Piper had grabbed him, "this bruise is all you need to prove your strength."
Piper looked stunned at his speech, and to be honest, he was surprised at himself too. Who knew he could be so awesome?
She flung her arms around him. "Thank you Leo," Piper whispered. "You're the best."
He stood taller, grinning from her praise. "Well, I'm not Leonardo Valdez for nothing," he bragged, but was secretly just glad his best friend was alright. For now.
They continued walking and reached the entrance to their temporary home, and Piper smiled at him. "Night Leo."
He smiled back, opening the door for her. "Night to you too Beauty Queen."
So that's the end of the first day! I'm not writing the whole week, so the next chapter will pick up on the second-last day our seven demigods are staying at Camp Jupiter before they leave. And as for the seventh member, they will revealed in the next chapter, but it's obvious who it is. If it's not Nico (they're saving him after all), and it can't be Reyna, then who else is there possibly? Octavian? Ha, I would rather have Percy and Jason murder each other before I let that happen.
Please read and review!
-DOTE
